They were the most unlikely alliance South Africa had ever seen: Charles Hughes the young ruthless protégé and Brandt the whiskey -swilling business magnate. Together they took on South Africa's stock exchange creating wealth and enemies.... Charles cold-hearted, ruthless cousin Lavinia, makes plans for him to marry Emily Ford a woman with inheritance and ailing health. Charles succumbs to Lavinia's plans and uses his wife's money to fund his ambitious dreams... As a widower, he returns to the turbulence of the Boer War, where he encounters Jean Kellan, a Nurse serving in the Boer War. Charles finds solace with his new wife Jean, a woman of intelligence and warmth. Tragedy and betrayal, grips them both, taking them back to England. Bored and tired with his wife, Charles leaves for Argentina, and sets his sights for the elusive Louise Liberty a woman he must possess and introduces her to London society as his wife. Jean now finds herself poised to outwit her husband and to divorce him, something that is unheard of in Edwardian Society. The shadow of the Leopard is a celebration of an indomitable spirit of a woman who dared to defy her husband...and to triumph against all odds....